Celtics Star Kristaps Porzingis Opens Up About Rare Ankle Injury

Kristaps Porzingis dodged injury scares throughout the regular season. That wasn’t the case for the Celtics star in the playoffs.

Porzingis missed over five weeks after suffering a calf strain in the first round against the Miami Heat. He then returned for the start of the NBA Finals, only to be sidelined again after sustaining a rare ankle injury in Game 2.

The ailment — which specifically was a torn medial retinaculum allowing for dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg — kept Porzingis out for Games 3 and 4 before he came back for Boston’s title-clinching win Monday night.

It is reported that Porzingis will need surgery to repair his damaged ankle and the 7-foot-2 center opened up about the injury following Boston’s Game 5 victory.

“What was put out, it was the truth,” Porzingis said. “It was something torn and then my tendon is just out of place. Pretty much hurts on every step. I would take a walk in Dallas and my leg would swell up. I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to play, if I’m going to play.’ But my mindset was always, I’m going to try to find a way how I can manage this.”

It was clear from the beginning of Game 5 that Porzingis wouldn’t be able to make the same impact he did in Game 1, when he scored 20 points in 21 minutes off the bench.

Hobbled by his ailing ankle, Porzingis gave the Celtics five points and one rebound in 16 minutes. The Mavericks tested him as soon as he checked in with 6:49 left in the first quarter, constantly putting him in pick-and-pop action. Porzingis’ lateral movement was compromised on the defensive end, which allowed Josh Green to hit a couple of first-quarter 3-pointers.

But Porzingis did what he could. He wanted to be out there no matter how he felt and helping the Celtics to a title should ease some of the pain in his ankle.

“Since last game, I’ve been thinking about, ‘How can I get my body ready for next game no matter how it is,'” Porzingis said. “And I was like, I’m going to try everything possible to get out there. So from (Monday) morning, I was preparing myself that I will go out there. And the medical staff was unbelievable (in their) support for me and got me back out there somehow. I’m super thankful for them.

“I gave everything I could. And, man, it feels great to be a champion.”